Fear of Avians
by WindauraSky
Summary: A one-shot MusaFubu fic. Musashi brings home a small fluffy bird, not knowing the deeper impact it would have on Fubuki. (Based on an OTP Prompt: Person A brings home a new exotic pet, not knowing Person B has a phobia of it.)


The chestnut-brown haired EYES member swiftly entered through the mechanical sliding doors, gently holding a tiny baby bird; the size of a thumb.

All eyes were upon Musashi walking in with a bright smile, as he tenderly stroked the small bird's undeveloped feathers. Fubuki swung his chair around to face Musashi, merely glancing over with mild interest.

"Musashi, what are you holding?" he asked, lifting a brow and walking over.

"Take a look for yourself, Fubuki-san!" he grinned, holding the feathery bird closer… to Fubuki's dismay.

Fubuki's eyes widened as a gulp managed to escape his throat, subconsciously stumbling a few steps backwards, almost clumsily tripping over the wheels of his chair.

"...Take it out. Get it away." he murmured, avoiding eye-contact.

"Huh?" the latter replied, tilting his head in confusion. "Fubuki-san, it's not a spider. It's just a baby bir-"

"I-I know what it is! Just get it away from me!" he repeated, still looking away. 

Musashi couldn't understand why Fubuki was acting like this. Blinking blankly, he shrugged and proceeded to nurture the little bird.

"Ayano-senpai~ Look, look!" he turned, showing the bird just like a child excitedly showing its toy.

"Aah! So cuuuute!" she cooed. "Can I touch it, Musashi-taain?"

Musashi nodded happily.

"Of course you can, but please, be gentle!" he said as he handed over the soft hatchling into her palms.

"Musashi, where did you find it? It is quite strange to see such an ordinary bird in a place like this." Hiura asked, walking closer to Ayano to take a closer look,  
with Fubuki still wondering why they all held so much interest in such a miniscule bird.

"Huh? I found it when I was driving the Sheepdog vehicle. I suddenly saw a tiny, cream-coloured fluffy bird cross the road and I pulled to a halt before escorting  
it into my arms. I didn't see a mother so I took it back here to our base."

"Don't worry!" he said, as he noticed Doigaki scanning it with a device, "It has no signs of Chaos Header. It's not even a monster." he reassured. 

Doigaki nodded twice before gently petting the bird in Ayano's palms.

"It's definitely adorable!" he said, giving a small smile.

"Just like Yoshi-san?" Shinobu teased, to Doigaki's surprise as if she successfully took the words out of his mouth.

"Y-Yes….?" he squeaked, his voice pitching at the end.

The sound of a chair moving, followed by a small leathery squeak was heard as Fubuki rose from his seat.

"Don't mind me, I'm going for a walk…" he explained muttering, exiting through the mechanical sliding doors within a few seconds.

"Fubuki-san, wait!-" Musashi called out, a tad too late.

* * *

Hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket, Fubuki made his way downstairs, before leaning against a white silver rail, his head tilted towards the sky. 

"The village of the fireflies, that's where it was." Fubuki started, "That's where that damned bird invaded and ate all the village resources.  
Six years ago. Six years since that incident. Six years, since I saw Ephemera- no, six years since I saw, my three-year old sister…" 

He clenched his fists, wanting to punch the white railing. 

"...Six years since that killer bird invaded our village and ate all the crops. The crops required to make medicine. A herb, the luxurious, precious herb… that would've…"

He paused, before resuming after taking a deep breath, "that would've cured my sister's illness…" 

Trailing off with a softer voice at the end, he shook his head to shake the thoughts away. 

"...No, that's not right. Just because that bird did something disastrously unforgivable, doesn't mean that I should despise this one.  
The one that Musashi's holding." he thought aloud, instinctively looking down at his palms. "Maybe I'll try to give this one a chance..." 

"Fubuki-taaiinn!" a shout was heard, as rapid footsteps flew down the grey stairs, the noise echoing as Musashi's feet touched each platform, "Where are you?" he called out.

Fubuki turned to look at him side-on, still leaning on the railing.

"What? Do you need something?" he asked harshly, almost with a threatening glare.

"No, I don't need anything! I was just… worried on where you had run off to, that's all." he replied, looking directly at Fubuki with thoughtful eyes.

"...Well, you found me." he started, thinking of what to say next. "still playing with that bird of yours?" he asked, uninterested. His tone of voice almost made him mistakenly sound jealous.

"Ah, no. I left it with Ayano-san. And you? What are you doing down here, anyway?" he replied quickly, before responding with another question.

Fubuki took a few moments before replying, "I just needed some fresh air, that's all."

"Oh, okay…" Musashi replied, as if he knew that wasn't entirely the truth. 

A few moments of silence took place before anyone spoke. 

"...Hey, Fubuki. Could I ask you a question? I'm just a little curious." he began, "Could you tell me why you were so afraid?" he asked with an honest tone.

Fubuki momentarily looked towards the ground before looking back up again. He sighed before nodding half-mindedly. "Yeah, sure. Why not." he murmured. Fubuki had  
previously told Musashi about Firefly Village, and he had always been quite compassionate and understanding. Surely it wouldn't hurt to let him in on this experience too.

Fubuki scratched the back of his neck while starting, as if initially struggling to think of what to say.

"What I'm about to tell you, I don't want you telling anyone else…, okay?" he warned with a serious tone, to which Musashi replied with a nod.

"Okay, it's between us."

"Back, around six years ago. You know, the incident I told you about regarding my little sister…" he started, quietening on the words 'little' and 'sister'  
as if it pained him to say it, "the village was ravaged by a raging inferno, wiping out half the village's population and crops. Only about a quarter of crops remained standing- if not, barely."

Musashi let Fubuki continue, nodding at times to show he was listening.

"A few months later, the village had successfully recovered from the inferno. Everything seemed peaceful and well, until suddenly another issue plunged the village into chaos." 

He stopped his narration for a few moments. 

"Now, Musashi. I know, you'll probably laugh at what this is, but-"

"No, Fubuki. I won't," the boy assured, "please, continue."

Fubuki momentarily stared at Musashi in surprise. He had thought he would take this immaturely, but he taking this seriously instead, showing full compassion and interest.

"A large flock of cream-coloured birds intruded the village, devouring all our struggling crops and spread an outbreak of disease."

"I was forced to leave the village, to leave the once-peaceful home that I once had and to leave those who I loved…" he stated, his voice trembling towards the end as he recollected memories flashing by: the demise of the village as all the straw-built houses were burned to smithereens within seconds. The shrill cry of the inhabitants within, screaming and sprinting for their lives- some to fall short and stumble, while desperately reaching out to their family as they were engulfed by scorching flames. 

"I had held onto a hope, a hope that the crops of the village would somehow be able to cure my ill younger sister. The crops that could make healing herbs, to completely vanquish whatever was causing her pain. A day before the avian invasion, a nearby herbalist informed us that there would be a cure through the gathering of these small crops patterned with a vibrant purple and navy blue flowers. 

The next day, those savage birds…those damned savage birds, had eliminated all these special crops and not a single… not a single one, was ever to sprout up again…"  
he continued, struggling to fight back tears, as a burning sensation filled his eyes, a small droplet managing to roll down the sides of his cheek. 

"Fubuki-san…" Musashi said, solemnly looking at the ground before looking up again.

"...N-now… I'll never be able to see her again, and-"

Fubuki was cut off as he felt the taller boy walk towards him, hugging him around the waist in a firm embrace.

"I'm so sorry to hear this. I had no idea…" Musashi whispered softly, his right hand moving up to gently brush a tear off Fubuki's eyes.

"...!" Fubuki's expression softened as he felt the other boy comfort him. "Musashi…" he softly murmured, his eyes meeting with his, tears welling up again.

"I'll always be here for you, I promise. You're more than welcome to tell me your troubles or if something's lingering on your mind, Fubuki-san. So, promise you'll alway do the same for me too, okay?" he exclaimed in a half-jovial tone, trying to keep his positive demeanor up, giving a thumbs up with his other hand, his Cosmos pluck in the form of a smooth stone glistening bright blue as he said so.

The village boy's eyes shined a little before nodding ever-so-slightly, making a soft smile,

"Yeah," he replied, "Thank you…" he added, softly.

* * *

A/N: Canon-wise, Fubuki _did_ lose his three-year-old sister, Sayaka, though it wasn't to the lack of crops or anything to do with birds. For this, I just tried to smoothly tie that addition in, in order to fit the prompt. Feedback is much appreciated, I'm having a little trouble with formatting on this website ^^;  
Thank you for reading!


End file.
